Educational Media Reviews Online

Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization is a special feature film-length episode in the acclaimed Journey to Planet Earth educational television series. Written and produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Marilyn and Hal Weiner, the Journey to Planet Earth series airs on PBS and examines the relationship between humans and their environment, looking at ways of achieving balance between the complex and intertwined needs of people and the health of the environment. Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization is driven by American environmental visionary Lester R. Brown, whose book of the same title is the basis for this episode. Viewers are taken on a journey with Brown as he travels around the world educating people about the current environmental crisis and advocating for fundamental changes in the way humans live and interact with their surroundings.

Clips from Brown’s speeches around the globe, interviews with Brown and a host of other individuals, and the low-key narration by actor Matt Damon present the far-ranging evidence of the environmental crisis that is rapidly worsening and how it affects everyone and everything on the planet. Additional experts and visionaries seen throughout Plan B include former U. S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, authors Eugene Linden (Winds of Change) and Tom Friedman (Hot, Flat, and Crowded), noted economist Paul Krugman, ecologist Stephen Pacala, marine climate change expert Scott Doney, and many more.

Brown notes some important concepts that are to blame for the crisis, such as the rapid spread of the high-emission “American” lifestyle model: high consumption of energy sources and livestock-based foods. Also, self-interested entities in the globalized economy continue exploiting the natural environment at an unprecedented level, and at a time when the global population continues to grow rapidly despite shrinking food supplies and drinking water, which has caused growing “food insecurity” and humanitarian crisis that are compounded by natural disasters. Brown sees the increasing numbers of “failed states” as an indication that the globalized modern civilization is at a tipping point.

The solution, Brown says, is a combination of renewable energy resources, and investing in people through education, health care (that includes family planning and contraceptives), and fighting poverty. Krugman talks about the need for restructuring the tax system and instituting a “carbon tax.”

Brown notes that the challenge is getting people to take both swift and decisive action as responsible members of a global community. The developed nations that have the greatest negative impact on the shared global environment also have the potential to do the most to reverse their impact - but are not acting swiftly or decisively at all. On the other hand, it is noted that the people that will likely suffer the most from the effects of the environmental crisis are those that have contributed the least to the problem and have the least capacity to do anything about it.

Some strengths of Plan B are that it comprehensively examines the causes of the environmental crisis and a significant portion of the episode is devoted to looking at solutions. At the same time, some shortcomings of this episode are that it is too long for most people to watch in a single sitting and it is repetitive with concepts as well as visuals. Plan B presents an objective tone, which is appropriate for a classroom setting but may make for slightly dull watching and little emotional connection for older viewers.

Technically, the production values are not very impressive, although consistent with the series and distinctly PBS/public television-style, and may appear dated for coming out in 2010. Animations and “special effects” are limited, mainly interposing interviewees over video backgrounds.

The review copy of the film did not include the “Leader’s Guide” or “Chaptered Case Studies for Use with Shorter Class Periods” features, so these features could not be assessed. However, the Journey to Planet Earth series is supplemented by online content such as a detailed Educator’s Guide specifically for the Plan B episode, which covers National Education Standards and learning objectives, and includes activities and discussion questions for each chapter as well as ideas for special follow-up projects. As an educational tool, the film gains an enormous amount of value from these supplemental materials.

Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization is most suitable for junior high and high school audiences, and combined with the activity and discussion guide it is recommended for general school libraries for classroom use on a broad range of topics – from sciences and the environment, to social and civic responsibility.